Amber Alert Not Absolute

It's been a highly publicized, and often successful, program. It's aimed at tracking down missing and abducted children before harm is done to them, but "missing and abducted" is the key point of the Amber Alert system.

One of the criteria for issuing an alert is a confirmation by law enforcement that a child has been abducted.

"The whole procedure involves a category one missing juvenile," says Washington County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Larry Mincks. "That means a verified abduction by a stranger, or circumstances indicating the missing child is in imminent danger or possibly had been killed."

Authorities also have to believe the circumstances of the abduction indicate the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.

Finally, for an immediate alert to be made, there would have to be enough information available to describe not only the child and the abductor but also the suspect's vehicle.

Even with all the tools at law enforcement's disposal, the severity of the case still has to be determined. That is, whether the case involves just a runaway or just an outright abduction.

"If the child is missing, and it's young, it's a very important consideration and something we react to as best as we can," says Mincks.

In 2001, the Sheriff's Department was involved in an intense search for a missing girl in the Newport, Ohio area. That search had a happy ending, but it was determined later on that the girl had left home voluntarily.

For concepts like Amber Alert to succeed, it often is a matter of what law enforcement departments know, and when they know it.

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The AMBER Plan

The AMBER Plan is a voluntary partnership between law-enforcement agencies and broadcasters to activate an urgent bulletin in the most serious child-abduction cases.

Broadcasters use the Emergency Alert System (EAS), formerly called the Emergency Broadcast System, to air a description of the missing child and suspected abductor.

This is the same concept used during severe weather emergencies. The goal of the AMBER Alert is to instantly galvanize the entire community to assist in the search for and safe return of the child.

AMBER Creation

The AMBER Plan was created in 1996 as a powerful legacy to 9-year-old Amber Hagerman who was kidnapped and brutally murdered while riding her bicycle in Arlington, Texas.

The tragedy shocked and outraged the entire community. Residents contacted radio stations in the Dallas area and suggested they broadcast special "alerts" over the airwaves so that they could help prevent such incidents in the future.

The Dallas/Fort Worth Association of Radio Managers teamed up with local law enforcement agencies in northern Texas and developed this innovative early warning system to help find abducted children.

How Does the AMBER Plan Work?

Once law enforcement has been notified about an abducted child, they must first determine if the case meets the AMBER Plan’s criteria for triggering an alert.

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children suggests three criteria that should be met before an Alert is activated.

Law enforcement confirms a child has been abducted.

Law enforcement believes the circumstances surrounding the abduction indicate that the child is in danger of serious bodily harm or death.

There is enough descriptive information about the child, abductor, and/or suspect’s vehicle to believe an immediate broadcast alert will help.

If these criteria are met, alert information must be put together for public distribution.

This information can include descriptions and pictures of the missing child, the suspected abductor, a suspected vehicle, and any other information available and valuable to identifying the child and suspect.

The information is then faxed to radio stations designated as primary stations under the Emergency Alert System (EAS).

The primary stations send the same information to area radio and television stations and cable systems via the EAS, and it is immediately broadcast by participating stations to millions of listeners.

Radio stations interrupt programming to announce the Alert, and television stations and cable systems run a "crawl" on the screen along with a picture of the child.

Since the original AMBER Plan was established, 88 modified versions have been adopted at local, regional, and statewide levels. Thirty-eight states have a state-wide plan.

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